Posts Tagged David

I mean, what 9 foot tall, heavily armored, highly skilled warrior stands a chance against a teen-ager in a robe with a sling-shot and the power of God almighty?

David is relentless in his faith. Despite the fact that his father has no confidence in him and keeps him home to tend the sheep, only to take some bread to his older brothers who are fighting on the front line…

Despite the fact that his older brothers mock him and tell him to go home and tend the sheep when he does show up…

Despite the fact that the king himself tells him he’s just a boy and that he could never fight the giant…

Despite the fact that the nine foot giant laughs and mocks him when he approaches with sticks and stones…

David has confidence in the Lord. He trusts that God would not allow this Philly giant to mock God or His chosen people. He remembers how God helped him slay the bear and the lion by hand when they tried to take his sheep.

And he knows that God will protect him now. So he runs (not walks) to the battle line and with a single, smooth stone takes down this enemy – with only one thought on his mind: glorifying God! Look what he says:

“You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

Now he has the king’s attention. Now, his brothers and his father have a new respect. Now, the entire nation of Israel know who he is – not that he was seeking that, but he was seeking to glorify God. As a result, he is now honored because he saved his people.

What giants do you face? There are things I struggle with that seem like giants. They mock me when I let my guard down. They seem insurmountable when I think of how “I” am going to solve them. But, if I realize who I am and who has my back, there is no need to hesitate or worry. I can run to the battle line and deal with them. Not only will the giants be slain, but as I battle the giants in the name of God, I will be blessed and honored.

Reading about the disobedient Israelites and arrogant Saul brings me down! Enter David, son of Jesse…

Samuel is mourning Saul, but God tells him to get some oil and go anoint the next king. Samuel hesitates because the current king still lives! He would be risking his life. But Samuel trusts and heads to his next assignment, despite the risk.

It’s interesting that his own father does not consider David to be king-worthy. All Jesse’s sons are present for Samuel to evaluate – except David. Samuel asks Jesse if these are ALL his sons. I love Jesse’s answer:

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Jesse’s like, “Well, ya there’s one more, but it’s just David. Why would you even ask about him? He’s out there somewhere…” Wouldn’t you bring all your sons before Samuel if Samuel asked you to bring all your sons?

God judges the heart. He selects the weak for positions of honor. He does not consider height or appearance, but seeks hearts that are after Him.

So Samuel anoints David as the next king.

Wait…what about the current king? What are we to do about him?

Well, isn’t it a strange coincidence that King Saul somehow randomly recruits David to play the lyre for him? No coincidence. God is at work. His will is going to be accomplished. There’s nothing anyone can do about it.

Lastly, it’s noteworthy to point out something in verse 23. Did you catch it?

“Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.”

In the first part of the verse, it says “the spirit from God” and in the last part, “the evil spirit would leave”.

Seems God is the one sending the evil spirit. Upon researching this a bit, you’ll find that it is inconsistent with God’s character to directly send evil spirits. Although He does punish people for their disobedience (and Saul is clearly disobedient to God), so some have suggested God simply allowed the evil spirit, not directly sent it.

I tend to think this is more a matter of linguistics. The word used for “evil spirit” here is the word rauch, which has a wide range of translations, including air (i.e., breath or wind); the vital principle of life or animating force; the rational mind where thinking and decision-making occurs; the Holy Spirit of God (Gesenius, 1847, pp. 760-761) and disposition of mind or attitude (Harris, et al., 1980, 2:836).

Furthermore, the word used for “evil” here is , which is translated “bad,” “unhappy,” or “sad of heart or mind” (Gesenius, p. 772).

Could it be that Saul was suffering from his own bad attitude? There have been many times I’ll sit and listen to music to chase away a bad mood.

The bottom line is this: God has intervened and suddenly David, a small shepherd boy whose own father considers him simply that, is now God’s anointed and finds himself somehow inexplicably in service as the king’s own armor-bearer.